This application relates to turbine engine bearings. More particularly, the application relates to bearing load management in a turbofan turbine engine, for example.
One typical turbofan engine includes high and low spools. A fan is coupled to the low spool, which also supports a low pressure compressor and low pressure turbine, for example. In one example, a high pressure compressor and high pressure turbine are coupled to the high spool. The low and high spools are supported within a housing provided by an engine core using bearings. In one example, engine core is covered by a core nacelle.
Some turbofan engines include a bearing load sensor in communication with a thrust bearing. The axial loads at the thrust bearing are recorded for maintenance purposes, for example. The bearing loading is not actively managed in response to any measured bearing load.
Some turbofan engines include a gear train arranged between one portion of the low spool, which supports the low pressure turbine, and another portion of the low spool that supports the fan. These types of geared turbofan engines can result in large bearing thrust loads that are substantially higher than non-geared turbofan engines. What is needed is an apparatus and method of actively managing bearing loads in a turbine engine.